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Friday, 14 June 2013

World cycling couple reaches Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: After cycling over 150,000
kilometres around the world, a couple from France has reached Islamabad and
expressed their surprise over hospitality in the country.

Richard and Stani
Velomad left their home in France eight years back and in their second trip
have bicycled across continents.

Dressed in a military
green shalwar kameez with a white and red chequered scarf around his head to
blend in as a local, Richard Velomad on Thursday told his audience, mostly
adventure seekers, at the Alpine Club of Pakistan how he and his English wife
were living their dream and seeing the world on cycles.

They risked getting
shot along the way over asking for directions, rode through stunning
landscapes, braved freezing weather and at times were offered tea everywhere
they went in one country.

The French/English
couple rode into Gilgit-Baltistan through China on mountain bikes on April 20.
The riders were particularly surprised at the hospitality extended to them in
Pakistan contrary to what they had heard about.

“Pakistan is a
completely different story from the rest of the world. As much as we admire the
friendly nature of the people and the hospitality extended to us, the landscapes
in this country are simply breathtaking. The heat, freezing temperatures and
the bumpy roads did not matter against the fine landscape in the northern
Pakistan,” said Richard Velomad.

The couple
immediately fell in love with truck art and got their bikes painted by an
artist along the road.

The Velomads started
out back in 1996 from Alaska, North America, and took a year to reach Mexico in
1997, which took another six months to cross. In March 1998, they reached
Belize in South Africa, Guatemala in May, 1998, rode through the Honduras - the
land of the Mayas and Incas, reaching Colombia in October, 1998. The pair then
biked into Ecuador in December 1998, crossed Peru by March 1999, the birth
place of Coco Cola as they were told, and Bolivia in June 1999, and Chile in
1999.

By the time the two
reached Argentina in March 2000, they were almost broke and had to return home
to make some money to hit the road again.

“Waking up to a
different view, watching baby turtles hatch on the beach, taking pictures with
people who smelled more than we did and so much more was all worth the trip,”
said Stani Velomad.

Back home, the couple
worked 85 hours a week and two jobs each. “We bought a rundown residence,
painted it ourselves, gave it new and modern look and then sold it. We did
similar things to make enough to hit the road again,” said Richard Velomad,
explaining how bicycling around the world had become an addiction.

Against the wishes of
their families, in December 2004, the couple left their hometown in France again
and headed for Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa. They caught a boat to
Sicily, rode past stunning architecture through Italy heading north. The two
described Slovenia as a country of likeminded people.

“While in other
countries where people would talk about politics, the Slovenes were like us,
with a passion for outdoor adventures, hiking and climbing etc,” said Stani
Velomad.

Although beautiful,
Bosnia conjured sad images in the head when the couple rode through this
country because of its history of war. The two took plenty of photographs of
architecture in Austria and in Germany.

“We like Netherlands
particularly because the whole country is made for bikers,” said Richard
Velomad, describing their ride through Poland and Latvia.

Two years later in July
2006, the two bikers reached Russia, the land of a fabulous culture and both
elegant and stately buildings. Because of visa concerns, the pair had to bike
through Russia in three months. They completed some of that journey by train.

In September 2006, the
bikers were in Mongolia, where they stayed six months. In May 2006, they
reached China and rode through Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Laos,
Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Destruction of rain
forests in these countries is the main feature, same as in some of the South
American countries,” said Richard Velomad.

In July 2010, the two
were in Australia followed by New Zealand before heading back up north again on
their bikes wherever they could ride it.

“In Burma, people
were like Pakistanis. Wherever we went they would offer us tea. Then through
China we entered into Pakistan.”

The couple didn’t say
how long before they ended their journey. “All we know is that we are heading
towards India,” said Stani Velomad, explaining how the world had been their
home since the last eight years.

It wasn’t the
physical difficulties they faced but adapting to different cultures which was a
bigger challenge.

“It has been draining
who to ask for directions and who to trust. It’s alright if this goes one for a
month. But eight long years we have been amongst people, who could have been
unwelcoming,” said Stani Velomad commenting on the risks they had faced along
the road.

“In the USA, a woman
pulled out a shotgun at my wife when she knocked on a door to ask for information,”
said Richard Velomad.